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Delicious!

4 Posted on 05 / 04 / 2013

Visited "Lotus" in April 2013 after being away from the city for about 4 years. I don't think it's changed at all! It is Asian fusion style & yes, I would agree that most dishes are mock-meat centred. Which they do very well, full of flavour & sometimes a bit too close for comfort! So it really comes down to if you're into mock-meats. We did order one yummy mushroom dish with no mock meats & the sizzling "prawn" hotpot which had heaps of veggies included. So there are choices which are veg-plenty & I didn't find it overly oily..again, that comes down to individual taste. I've never tried the buffet. Some other notes, the desserts mostly contain palm sugar & dairy although you can ask for dairy free. You get complimentary Jasmine tea. The decor is simple, a bit plain for me, plastic on the tables etc. The atmosphere is ok, quiet music but usually well patronised. The old owner lady, which other reviewers refer to, isn't scary or loud. She just knows the menu back to front & will be decisive for you if you are unsure, hahaha. I find her quite endearing. She is a sweet lady & gave me a persimmon once.

Pros: Flavour! Always a bonus when dining., Stacks of vegan options, Lovely staff
Cons: Bit of a Yin atmosphere for my liking.

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Regular favourite

4 Posted on 10 / 25 / 2012

My friends and I are regulars at Sri Melaka (or Lotus as most people call it). Definitely not the sort of place you'd eat at too often as the food isn't generally on the healthy side. The young waiter/waitresses that work there generally seem timid and with the owner of the restaurant I can clearly see why. It's either her way or the highway and that doesn't count only for the staff.
That being said, we're regulars there for a reason. The food is tasty, it's in a great location for heading out afterwards (though better for lunch the next day as a hangover cure) and the service is usually really quick.
Price is a little higher than it should be judging from other vegan restaurants around.

Pros: Flavour, Vegan shop next door, Location
Cons: Owner, inconsistency, Price

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Plenty yummy

5 Posted on 03 / 25 / 2011

Had three excellent dishes for dinner on a Friday night: Assam Garam Fish, an eggplant dish, and the chicken satay starter. The fish was a standout, and also the satay, and both were pretty large portions. Good service. The price for those three dishes and including rice and tea was $49. I like mock meat occasionally and thought they did a pretty good job of it, but when we wandered over to the store afterward I realized that all the stuff we ate came from the freezer case. It's probably too much to expect a restaurant making these items from scratch, and I'm sure most Asian restaurants use the frozen stuff. Anyway, a great meal and I'd go back.

Pros: delicious, generous portions, Malaysian
Cons: frozen food

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Nyona + Vegan = Awesome

4 Posted on 02 / 18 / 2011

Well made Nyona cuisine. And it's veg, so go! Don't you remember how good beef rendang used to taste? Oh yeah, one of the few dishes I missed after becoming vegan... so good.

Pros: Tasty, Location, Store

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Not healthy but tasty

4 Posted on 02 / 01 / 2010

I agree with every review - it can be all these things on all days! We've been ripped off by the owner too but complained and received a lovely email back offering free items next time we went in. The only disconcerting thing is the names of the dishes! I don;t WANT to eat beef, fish, lamb, chicken etc and it took me ages to eat there. The names are off-putting and I tend to point at the menu. They probably think I'm an ignorant Australian who thinks they can't speak English, but I never want to say I'm ordering Sweet and Sour Chicken (the rest of the dishes have got so spicy over the years). It puts me off - that, and the amount of fat which must be in these fake meat products.

Pros: Price, vegan, attached market
Cons: Attidtude of owner, Names of dishes, Casual billing practices

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I don't know what everyone is complaining about!

5 Posted on 11 / 10 / 2009

I went there for the first time last week and the food was excellent. I can't comment on the buffet, but the menu is huge and the sauces are delicious and spicy. The staff were great, the food was cheap, and sure, it isn't the worlds best decorated restaurant, but it is nice and cozy. And me and my carnivorous friend bought up big in the fantastic little market next door! I'm actually heading back this weekend for some more of that great rendang curry :)

Pros: Great food, Friendly staff, Cheap!

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my friend loves it...my man loves it...then i love

4 Posted on 05 / 18 / 2009

what is every1 complaing about...the mama-san seems to take care of me the way a mommy would!! she just knew...

my man converted vegetarian because of the 2 visits!
he loves it!

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Mediocre

2 Posted on 12 / 09 / 2008

I had the lunch buffet here, the food didn't seem very fresh, healthy, or tasty. I found the atmosphere and decor uninspiring, but the service seemed fine. It wasn't a bad experience, but I left here not terribly impressed.

Cons: Not very fresh, Decor, Atmosphere

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Former Favourite...

3 Posted on 12 / 02 / 2008

Food is great with choices aplenty. Has a market next door which sells an abundance of veg friendly food items including mock meat.
The only downside is the apparent lady owner, who has an annoying knack for persistent upselling - which can really unsettle the experience.
But sill a good place to eat.

Pros: Many food choices, Market is good place to shop
Cons: Upselling owner

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Not Bad, but Slipping Standards

4 Posted on 11 / 30 / 2008

I've been a regular customer at this low frills, vegan-friendly place for about 10 years and, until recently, it was hands down a 5-happy-cow establishment. On buffet nights, I was regularly treated to the delights of 'Beef' Rendang, Curry Kapitan, and Nonya Eggplant. Things seem to have changed for the worse in the last year or two, however, and the last time I went, the buffet was a major disappointment. Gone were the richly flavoured faux meat stir fries and curries, replaced by *very* basic stir fries, pastas, and what appeared to be cold McCain / Birdseye potato wedges! Not quite what you'd expect from Nonya cuisine.

The place is still owned and operated by the same people that served me up delicious veggie fare week after week for nearly a decade, so I can only imagine there's been a bit of cost-cutting experimentation going on with the buffet lately. A real shame, as this will definitely turn off first time customers. The buffet includes water, juices, soft drinks and dessert though, so there's still some value to be had.

The very friendly owners don't spend quite as much time at the restaurant as in previous years, and the service has suffered a little as a result. The current staff is still fine, but not as warm or attentive as a few years back.

As far as I know, the a la carte menu hasn't changed much, so I'd recommend sticking to that, and trying out some of the dishes I mentioned above - at least until the buffet returns to its previous standard. At the moment, I'd give White Lotus about 3.5 happy cows, but I'll round it up to 4 because I know what they're capable of.

It's also worth mentioning that the adjoining Vegetarian Market is outstanding, especially for lovers of faux meat / seafood.

Pros: Some excellent dishes, OK prices, Great veggie store next door
Cons: Poor buffet (at the moment), Average service

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Not cheap, not good, not again

2 Posted on 09 / 14 / 2008

I ordered frm menu as buffet looked tired & and past use-by date. Soup OK. Sizzling beef didn't, consisted of limp beef sausage & chopped bell peppers. Gado gado a mix of cabbage, lettuce,beanshoots and peanut sauce. No egg! Very bland. Service ordinary. Expensive for what I got (A$40) michael tait

Pros: BYO
Cons: Food, Service

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Mediocre Food

2 Posted on 04 / 21 / 2007

I didn't have any problem with service or the owners as some of the previous reviewers did. I just had a problem with the mediocre food. Nothing horrible, just nothing great. Very pedestrian mock meat chinese, and I've been treated to much much better in the past. Flavours were extremely basic, either super spicy or sugary sweet. Avoid the vegetable curry, which was particularly offensive.

Pros: clean, good portions
Cons: expensive, not great food

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Made me nervous!

3 Posted on 12 / 27 / 2006

After a quick look at the menu here, I thought the AVS website had been mistaken about this place being vegetarian. Every dish listed on the menu had a type of meat in the name. I was not confident that the asian server, whose English wasn't so good, was understanding that I was vegan but after talking to her son, I was relieved to find out that all the "meats" were soy analogues. I ordered chicken wings but honestly found it too like the real thing to really enjoy it. It was definitely enjoyed by the meat eaters I had gone with but a psychological trip for me. The food was tasty none the less. They also had freezers full of analogues and other vegan ingredients for purchase at the attached health food store.

Pros: good food, health food store attache
Cons: analogues were too real